Oust that tune: Study details cures for earworms

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Swedish singer Agnetha Faltskog, performs on stage together with pop group ABBA, the 1970s pop phenomenon and Sweden's most popular music export, in Stockholm, in this Jan. 26, 1976, photo. (AP Photo /Pressens Bild/Per Kagrell)

January 31, 2014 12:10:15 PM PST

WASHINGTON --

It happens to nearly everyone: A song - let's say Abba's "Waterloo" - is stuck in your head and just won't go away.

Now science has not one but three ways to dig that dreaded earworm out.

Researchers at the University of London found that earworm victims say you can listen to the complete song or sing it; you can just not let it bother you, or you can try using another song to shove out the offending tune.

How about "God Save the Queen"? Researcher Lauren Stewart of the University of London said that un-catchy tune was mentioned most often as an earworm replacement.

The study of 18,000 residents of Finland and England is in the journal PLOS One.